Dive Brief:
- Jack Daniel’s owner Brown-Forman is pausing production at the Slane Irish Whiskey distillery in Slane, Ireland.
- Brown-Forman is aligning whiskey output with market demand, a spokesperson wrote in an email. However, the company has a “robust supply of maturing whiskey” to ensure enough of the alcohol is available worldwide.
- The spokesperson didn’t specify how long operations will stop.
Dive Insight:
The Slane Irish Whiskey distillery is the latest spirits plant to pause production. The sector has seen demand wane amid a new low in alcohol consumption, increased competition from new alcohol players and consumers seeking better-for-you and functional alternatives.
Though all alcoholic beverage producers, including beer and wine brands, are making adjustments to combat changing tastes and new competition, spirits companies have a more difficult time adjusting. This is because the industry determines production levels years in advance due to barrel aging and distilling time.
Several other distilleries have recently halted production, including two MGP Ingredients distilleries and Jim Beam’s flagship distillery, each in Brown-Forman’s home state of Kentucky.
Brown-Forman has also faced headwinds since 2025 from rapidly changing tariff policies, which impacts Slane Irish Whiskey.
In its most recent earnings report, Brown-Forman reported third-quarter net sales of $1.1 billion, a 2% year-over-year increase. The spirits maker will report fourth-quarter results later this week.
